The Young Dhampir: The Aurelian Bloodline
by Meowth22
Summary: A five-year old orphan in England finds herself, through a series of bizarre events, adopted by a family in California. But, will trouble arise when the girl's new big sister, in her starting out as a vampire slayer, discovers the truth of her origins-that she is really a dhampir: part-human, part-vampire? Will be rewritten.
1. Prologue

**July 16****th****, 1996**

In a small town in England, on a late night, a small girl wearing a small, red dress was standing alone in a playground.

Her name was Jacqueline, she was five years old. Her skin was pale, white as a ghost. She had short black hair with a bowtie on.

Jacqueline was an orphan, living at the nearby Carruthers Orphanage. She was currently wondering when the caretaker of the orphanage, Milo would show up to pick her up and take her back home.

Over the past few months, Milo had grown increasingly cross towards her. He often singled her out for punishments, such as being locked inside the 'time out' room for a night or even being on the receiving end of his belt.

With the isolation often enforced by the orphanage staff on her and her own shy nature, Jacqueline had no friends among the fellow children at the orphanage, her only interactions with them being either taunting jeers or terrified looks.

Jacqueline was puzzled at what she had done to deserve such animosity or fear. After all, she always tried her best to be a good girl, a well-behaved child. It was her sister that always caused the trouble.

Yes, Bess. Her twin sister-and a truly bad seed. Such as the she bit Milo on the hand when he went to punish her for kicking her ball into a window, breaking it. Or the time she gave Timothy a bloody nose at snack time when he wouldn't give her his seat.

Jacqueline couldn't stand her sister, who, it seemed, took glee in being malicious and getting her-the 'goody good' as she mockingly called Jacqueline-into trouble.

The orphan girl felt a chill go up her spin when she heard leaves start to crumple-a sign someone was approaching her, "Hello?"

Nervously, she looked over her shoulder, calling out, "Is anyone there?"

"Lost are you, dearie?"

Jacqueline turned around to see a thin figure step out the darkness. It was a tall, dark-haired woman dressed in white. Something in her eyes-that unblinking stare-gave Jacqueline a fright.

"Um…", Jacqueline stuttered as the woman stepped closer and closer towards her, "n-no, I'm waiting for some-"

"No need to fret, my pet,", the woman told her as she approached, her hands at her sides, "with me here, it'll all be right as rain."

Jacqueline gulped at the predatory glare in the woman's eyes-which clashed with the gentle tone of her voice.

The woman lifted up one of her arms and began to beckon Jacqueline, "Just come with me and…"

As if in a trance, Jacqueline stepped forward, getting within spitting distance between her and the woman.

The dark-haired beauty knelt down and touched Jacqueline on the foreheard. Her eyes quickly looked like a deer that had been struck in its headlights, she began muttering, "Strange…very strange…"

"What?", Jacqueline asked, petrified.

"You, dearie," the woman stared down at the little girl, "I can hear your heart beat…" before droning on while staring into space, "beat…beat…beat…", then returned her attention to Jacqueline, "but then I'm sensing something in you…like…"

The woman paused before asking, "How old are you?", to which Jacqueline held up an entire hand.

This elicited another pause, as if the woman was counting the number in her head before she exclaimed, "Five…five!"

A look of realization shown in the woman's eyes before she gained a massive smile, "Oh, you dearest little duckling!", she nearly tackled Jacqueline in a hug, "I've found you! I can't believe I found you!"

Almost smothered in the embrace, Jacqueline choked out, "Wh-who are you?"

The woman let go before getting on her knees to look the child in the eyes, telling her with glee, "I'm your mummy."

Jacqueline couldn't believe what she was hearing, "My what?"

The smiling woman nodded, "That's right, dearie. Now, what would your name be?"

"Jacqueline."

The woman laughed, clearly delighted, "Jackie, Jackie."

She launched up to her feet, "Ooh, so much to plan, so much to do, but first," before taking Jacqueline up into her arms, "we need to get you home to Daddy."

…

"Nancy, are all the children in bed yet?", Milo Carruthers, at his desk at the orphanage, asked his assistant.

Milo was a balding man of medium build in his late fifties.

Nancy was a portly woman in his mid-forties with brown hair.

"Yes sir-well, all except Jacqueline," Nancy added with a trace of guilt, "of course."

Milo gave out a grumble before dismissing her, "That will be all."

Milo did not see what she was so worked up about. He had just managed to get rid of the orphanage's worst problem child and even scored a financial boost for the place's coffers in the process.

Well, a portion of the money would go to the orphanage directly. The rest would be placed for safe keeping in a bank account managed by him for…emergencies and the like.

He dialed a number before holding the phone up to his ear, "Mr. Bryardale, what we discussed earlier…that wretched child is gone."

Milo said the last bit with satisfaction before continuing on, "Now, about the transfers to my account…"

…

Spike, shirtless with only his pants on, his jacket sitting on a nearby chair, was sitting down on the couch at his and Drusilla's hideout. It was a dingy rathole with all the windows boarded up.

He was watching the television when he heard the door slam open with cries of, "Spike! Spike!"

Spike turned to greet Drusilla, "What's all the commotion for, luv-", but paused, going even paler than usual, at the child she was carrying in her arms.

Oh no, he thought, hoping his lover did not sire another child in an attempt to start a 'family' again, grimacing at memories of the disaster that was the last attempt.

"Dru," the blonde vampire looked at her sternly, "that had better just be a snack you got in your arms there."

Drusilla, ignoring his tone, smiled, "Spike! Amazing news!", she held up the black-haired child (who was looking at him curiously), "You're a daddy!"

Spike paused before crying out in frustration, "Oh, for the love of…"


	2. New Parents

When Spike regained his composure, by which time Jacqueline was walking around the apartment trying to get adjusted, he turned to his lover, "Dru, what the bloody hell are you-…"

Drusilla interrupted him with a light slap across the face, "Spike! Language!," then gestured towards the little girl staring up at them in the corner, "there's a child present!"

"I can see that…", Spike gave Jacqueline an uninterested glance before returning his attention to Drusilla, "but why did you bring 'er here?"

"Don't you sense it?" Drusilla exclaimed, "She's our baby!"

Spike was incredulous, "What?!"

"Think back, Spike, back to London. Six years ago."

…

_London, England; December 11__th__, 1990_

"_Where is he?"_

_It was in an alley, in the East End of London, in the dark night._

_Spike, carrying one of his trademark railroad spikes, was standing over a mustached man tied up with rope. _

_The man was defiant, "Go to Hell, vampire. I will never tell you!"_

"_I said, where is he!", Spike growled before plunging the railroad spike into the man's leg._

_The man cried out in agony as Spike began cutting across his leg, leaving a long cut before screaming out, "Burn eternally, you filth!"_

_Spike sighed, this was getting him nowhere, "This'll only get worse until you tell me, mate."_

"_Allow me, Spike."_

_Drusilla had stepped out of the shadows._

_Spike nodded and took a step back to allow his lover get to work, "Sure thing, luv."_

_Drusilla knelt down next to the man, "Look into my eyes."_

_The man tried to force his eyes to remain close when Drusilla smacked him fiercely across the face, "Look into my eyes," the surprise of the blow caused him to reflexively open his eyes, leaving him vulnerable to her spell. She grinned, pleasure clear on her face, "that's it, my dear. Follow the sound of my voice, do you understand?"_

"_Yes, Mistress," the man answered robotically._

"_That's a good dearie," Drusilla rubbed his hair playfully, "now, tell me, where is your master?"_

"_He isn't here. He left the city a week ago."_

"_That's a shame," if Drusilla did notice the jealous look on Spike's face, she made no indication, "what business did he have here then."_

"_His latest concubine, Alicia Kallins, she's with child."_

_Drusilla's eyes lit up with interest, "And where is she?"_

"_He has her under armed guard at the Barrow Hotel. Room 205."_

_Spike knew they could have gotten this information if he had let Drusilla work her wonders on the man in the first place. But where would the fun for him be in that?_

_Armed with the new information, Drusilla snapped the man's neck and stood up, where her lover was waiting with a held-out hand, "Shall we, luv?"_

_With a giggle, she leapt into his arms and then, they were off, leaving the body of their latest victim in the snow._

…

_It was a tough fight. The toughest Spike had had in a while, but he and Drusilla had managed to force their way through the guards the Immortal had posted in the hotel._

_Digging around the various corpses in the hallway, they eventually found the key to the hotel room the man gave them._

_Entering the room, they found a black-haired woman in her early thirties, dressed in a red gown, cowering in the corner. From the slight bump on her stomach, she was visibly pregnant._

_Spike, still in his 'vamp face', strolled casually towards her, "You must be Alicia, right?"_

_Alicia avoided his eye contact, "Who are you? What do you want?"_

_Spike knelt down, coming in close enough to her face that he was breathing in her face, "Oh, don't tell me your boyfriend never mentioned ol' Spike."_

"_Please don't hurt me," Alicia began crying, her left hand on her stomach, "I'm pregnant."_

_There was no sign of pity on the blonde vampire's face, "And you think I care?"_

"_The father is a very important man-a very powerful man. If you let me go, he'll make it worth your while, I swear."_

_Spike spat contemptuously at her, "There's nothing from him that I want…", then paused to quip, "well, except to see him suffer."_

_He stepped forward for the kill, Alicia flinching at his step, when he heard Drusilla call out from behind him, "Spike, wait."_

_Spike turned around, "What, Dru, you want first bite?"_

"_No, we shouldn't kill her."_

_Spike was confused, "What?", while, simultaneously, Alicia let out a relieved sigh and cried, "Thank you!"_

_The relief died on the spot when she saw the demented glimmer in Drusilla's eyes, "We should sire her."_

_Spike contemplated this. Sire a pregnant broad, a broad pregnant with the child of one of his oldest enemies? Sounded like something straight out of Angelus' playbook._

_He loved it._

"_Come 'ere, luv," Spike grabbed Alicia and plunged his fangs into her neck._

_She screamed like a banshee while Spike was feeding ravenously on her blood. _

_When Alicia fell unconscious, Spike managed to stop himself from taking even more before laying her onto a couch._

_Spike took out a knife and sliced his own palm, allowing his blood to drip into Alicia's mouth, remarking with a smirk, "A parting gift."_

_The last thing Spike said before strolling out of the room with Drusilla on his arm was,"Be sure to tell the Immortal that we said hello."_

…

Spike was stunned, "So, what you're saying is that that child is…"

Drusilla smiled and nodded, "Yes."

He couldn't believe it. It was rare for Dhampirs, the result of pregnant woman being sired, to live past a few days

Back then, the plan was for the Immortal to have to stake his love (and therefore, destroy his child) in order to torment him, as revenge for prior humiliations (including a jail stint for tax evasion).

The last thing he expected was for said child to show up at his doorstep years later. In the enthusiastic arms of his love, no less.

"How is she still alive? How did you find her?", he asked.

Drusilla shrugged nonchalantly, "Does it matter? All that matters is she's with us, her mummy and her daddy."

Spike felt a tug at his pants leg. He looked down to see Jacqueline staring up at him, "What?"

Jacqueline stared up at the tall, blonde man, still in disbelief that this was her father. She stuttered nervously, "A-are you my daddy? S-she t-told me you were."

He, catching Drusilla sly smirk, gave a surrendering sigh and answered, "I suppose I am, kid."

At this, Jacqueline gave a delighted squeal and hugged his leg.

Spike was confused, there was something about being in proximity to this child that was bringing something out of him. Not quite a fatherly love, but similar to an animal's instinct to protect its young.


	3. Bedtime Story

_Edited on April 10th as I was unaware until recently there already was a character that was Buffy's immediate predecessor as Slayer. Thank you to Sara for telling me this._

Jacqueline was hugging Spike's leg for a good minute when he spoke up, "Okay, that's enough."

She continued gripping his leg, still whispering in awe, "Daddy,"

"That's enough, pet," Spike grew a deeper tone of voice, but still the girl wouldn't budge.

"I said- "Spike, realizing this was futile, looked to his paramour for aid, "Dru!"

Drusilla knelt down and began caressing the young girl's hair gently. Jacqueline smiled at the gesture of maternal affection-the first she'd been shown that in a while.

"Jackie," Drusilla asked, a grin plastered on her face, "do you like dollies?"

The girl grew a large smile on her face and nodded her head back and forth.

…

The Watcher, a well-dressed blonde man in his late thirties named William Bryardale was sitting in a pub-his favored hangout, when he heard the doorbell ring.

He looked up, "Good evening, India."

His Slayer, a short-haired Brunette in her late twenties named India Cohen approached his table, "William."

Bryardale gestured for her to sit down at the opposite end of the table, "As you know, Spike and his vixen have been spotted in the area."

India's body grew stern, knowing full well of Spike's record of killing two Slayers in combat. She asked, "What's the battle plan?"

Bryardale handed her an envelope, "This."

India took out the envelope's contents, surprised to find it was a picture of a young black-haired girl, "A kid?"

"A Dhampir, specifically Spike's Dhampir."

India sputtered, "I don't understand."

"Six years ago, Spike sired a pregnant woman-over an old feud or such."

He took a moment to note the horror on India's face, "Now, few Dhampirs survive the birthing stage as most people mistake them for being stillborn, so they're usually-if not abandoned outright-buried."

"This girl," he pointed at the picture in the Slayer's hand, "Jacqueline is one of the few survivors."

"Two years ago, three-year old Jacqueline was deposited by a woman-most likely not the biological mother, some form of caretaker-at an orphanage run by a Mr. Milo Carruthers," Bryardale explained, "recently, I contacted Mr. Carruthers and asked him about the child in question. She has all the common traits of a child reported to be a confirmed Dhampir. So, I offered him…financial incentive, shall we say, to use the child as bait to lure them out of hiding."

India stared at him, aghast, "You used a child as bait-for vampires?"

"Come now, India, it wasn't a human child-it was only a Dhampir."

The Council's vague policy of whether Dhampirs, even as children, constituted as humans, did give him some flexibility in this matter.

"Is she still alive?", India asked, concern clear in her tone.

"As alive as a Dhampir counts," he sighed at India's glare, "Yes, she is."

She asked, "How do you know?"

"I cast a tracking spell on her clothes. It will lead us straight to them-and when the time is right, we strike, Europe is rid of its two of its worst vampires, everyone's happy."

India pressed him, "What about the child's safety?"

Bryardale answered nonchalantly, "What about her?"

…

Drusilla was playing with her dolls with Jacqueline, having a pretend tea party.

"Would you care for some more tea, Miss Arianna?", Jacqueline giggled while holding the blonde-haired doll.

"Yes I would, Miss Edith, thank you," Drusilla smiled. Jackie was a much more enthusiastic Miss Edith than Spike ever was. He would always make her snippy and crabby towards her.

Spike came into the room just in time to ruin the fun, "Alright, time for bed, girls."

Jacqueline dropped Miss Edith on the table and looked up at him with a pleading look in her eyes, "Could we have a few more minutes, Daddy?"

Spike's face was as unmoving as stone, "No."

Jacqueline's lip gave a pout, "Please…"

"Don't pout, Jackie," Spike told her firmly, "it does not look well upon a young lady to pout."

Drusilla dropped Miss Arianna, "Anyhow, as your Daddy says, it is time for bed."

Jacqueline looked up at her mummy, "Can I sleep with you?"

Spike interrupted, "No, Mummy will sleep with Daddy."

"No, no, Spike," Drusilla wagged her finger at her lover, "Tonight, Jackie will sleep on the bed with Mummy."

"But where will Daddy sleep?", Jacqueline asked.

"Yes, Dru," Spike was growing worried, "where will I sleep?"

Drusilla answered, "Daddy can sleep on the couch tonight."

Spike cried out incredulously, "The couch?!"

"No arguing, Spike," Drusilla moved to pick up Jacqueline off the floor and into her arms, "we mustn't delay."

She proceeded to carry Jacqueline into the bedroom, "Young ladies need their beauty sleep, after all," leaving the blonde vampire standing next to the couch.

"So this is how it's going to be," Spike muttered with a tired sigh as he laid his back on the couch, "Should've just let her keep the dead parakeet."

…

Both Drusilla and Jacqueline were laying in the bed and under the covers when she heard the squeaky voice next to her, "Mummy?"

"Yes?", Drusilla turned over on her side to look at Jacqueline.

"Could you tell me a bedtime story?"

Drusilla grew a huge grin on her face, "Let me tell you a story about your Granddaddy-my Daddy, would you like that?"

"Oh, here we go," Spike muttered under his breath while staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes please, Mummy," Jacqueline answered innocently.

Drusilla began: "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful man. Called Angelus for he had the face of an Angel.

Now, Angelus-he had a gift-a gift he had inherited from an equally beautiful by the name of Grandmummy Darla.

He wanted to pass this gift onto others, namely a girl with the ability to see the future-Me!

So then, I accompanied them across Europe as they shared their creativity with all.

One day, I came across a man in England-a lonely poet with the potential to be a brave knight.

I shared the gift with him-and he became the man you call Daddy.

So, we were all off across Europe. The Whirlwind was what we were called.

Eventually, Grandmummy was called to America to see her Master: Great-Granddaddy!

But he will be a story for another time. Where was I?

Oh yes, now there was only Granddaddy, Mummy, and Daddy.

However, Granddaddy came across a wicked people called Gypsies. He was cursed-"

Spike bellowed from the couch, annoyance clear in his tone, "Was turned into a ponce and buggered off ever after. The end."

Drusilla, with a soft growl, leapt off the bed and went into the corridor.

She heard Drusilla yell-while putting emphasis on every word-, "Do! Not! Interrupt! Story! Time!"

All the while cringing when hearing the hitting sounds-along with that of Spike groaning in pain, resounded, "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, Dru, I won't interrupt!"

A moment later, Drusilla-a faint smile on her lips-waltzed back into the room, "Now then…" climbing onto the bed once more, "where was I, dearie?"

Jacqueline nervously spoke, "A curse?"

Drusilla smiled, nodded, and continued her tale, "Ah yes, he was cursed into becoming a beast. A horrible beast.

And that was the last Mummy and Daddy heard of him.

But Mummy and Daddy remained together. And later found a little girl."

"That little girl was theirs'," Drusilla reached out her hand, "that little girl," and touched Jacqueline gently on the nose, "was you."

"Will I get the gift, Mummy?", Jacqueline asked.

The vampire smiled, "You already have it, dearie."

Drusilla held Jacqueline close to her as she began singing a soft lullaby into her ears.

It was a tune she had first heard, years ago, when, on one of her hunting sprees, she came across a homeless woman singing it to her own little girl. On what would turn out to be the last night of their lives.

A pretty little tune, she considered it.

By the time she had finished singing, Drusilla noticed Jacqueline had fallen sound asleep. Smiling, she laid her head down on the pillow.

"Good night, dearie."


End file.
